Terrorized
by October Breeze
Summary: The Heartless have come back for an encore, and Yuffie is kidnapped after a string of strange happenings. No one knows what to do, and are left with one cryptic message to bring Yuffie back. How long will it take Squall to realize his true feelings?
1. Kidnapped

Terrorized  
  
By October Girl  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or the characters or anything. I MIGHT decide to make a few characters, but I'll notify you if I do.  
  
Note: Read and review! Tell me what you think, c'mon, you know you want to!  
  
KEY: '~~~' means a character shift  
'___' means time lapse  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
Yuffie stood outside the hotel of Second District. The breeze ruffled her short, black hair that was always held back by a white headband. She had her hands in the back pockets of her shorts. She gripped a shuriken in her hand and watched as people scattered and ran.  
  
Confused, Yuffie pushed past the people screaming and yelling out names of friends and family. Her eyes searched the crowd for Aerith, Cloud, or Squall.  
  
She knew they all thought she was just a baby. Compared to them, she was. She was only about seventeen, going on eighteen, and they were in their twenties. Aerith acted almost motherly at times, Cloud like a consoling older friend, and Squall a hateful, annoying older brother. The way they tried to protect her and leave her out of important conversations tore her apart.  
  
After fifteen minutes of unsuccessful searching, her eyes stung with tears. She wiped her eyes in vain. The tears kept coming.  
  
'What kind of ninja ARE you? All you ever do is cry.'  
  
Squall's words from two months ago repeated over and over in her head. It was true. She wasn't a good ninja, she was probably the worst, most unworthy ninja that there was.  
  
People ran past her, heading towards First District. The word 'Heartless' caught her attention. Heartless? Those had been defeated over four months ago. What was happening?  
  
Alarmed, Yuffie followed the crowd into First District. Everyone was shoving and yelling nasty words at each other, and pushing at the door. It flung open and the large abyss of different people pushed to get inside.  
  
Yuffie spared a glance behind her and did a double take. Small, little pools of inky darkness spread across Second District, coming from Third District. From the spots raised the ugly, yellow-eyed shadow Heartless that spurred fear in every heart in every world.  
  
She was the last one in to First District. She slammed the doors shut and collapsed on them, breathing hard. What if her friends were still out there? As far as she knew, they weren't armed for combat. The last she had known was that Squall was in the Waterway and Aerith and Cloud were with Cid in one of the shops near the hotel.  
  
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and counted to three.  
  
"One, two, three. One two three. One, two three," she said softly to herself. The wave of people spread out, their voices mixing together to make one large octave of sound. The three ducklings glanced out of their shop, confused, and even the clueless Moogles were running about.  
  
"Yuffie! YUFFIE!"  
  
Startled, she looked up. Aerith, clad in the usual pink, was running toward her, looking relieved.  
  
"Yuffie," she said again once she got to her. "Where were you? Everyone is running around in a panic. I sent Cloud and Squall out looking for you!"  
  
"I can take care of myself," Yuffie said, and quickly wiped her cheeks of her tears. "I thought you were all in Second District."  
  
"We were. I have no clue what has been happening, but whatever it is it's involved with the Third District. Heartless are coming out through the doors, and the whole sky is pitch black with what looks like a strange fog."  
  
"The sky is always black."  
  
"Not like this. Right here you can see the moon and the stars, and the sky is bluish looking, but not there. It's so ugly," she said with bitterness.  
  
"What are we going to do?" Yuffie brushed the hair out of her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest in a means of making herself feel protected.  
  
"First we have to get Cloud and Squall back, then we're going to have to find a leader for us. This town should have had a mayor a long time ago. Everything was out of order with the first wave of Heartless."  
  
Yuffie bit her lip. She hoped to God that Squall and Cloud was all right. Even if they sometimes got on her nerves, especially Squall, she still wanted them safe. Aerith looked at her in sympathy, as if she could tell what she was thinking.  
  
She wrapped an arm around Yuffie and said, "They'll be all right. Don't worry about them. They'll come back soon enough."  
  
~~~  
  
Squall and Cloud walked across Second District. The weaker class of Heartless surrounded them. He glanced over at Cloud. His blonde hair was falling into his eyes and a layer of sweat covered his face, although it was mostly hidden by his bold red cape.  
  
Squall gripped his Gunblade and heaved it high over his head and swung down hard and sliced through one of the Heartless. It screamed in a high pitched voice. It sounded so inhuman, unlike anything he had ever heard in his life.  
  
He struck again, splattering black ink like blood across his white shirt. Cloud battled with the other side.  
  
The blood on his arms started to sting and smoke on his arms. Without a word he wiped it off and made one large swoosh with the Gunblade and sliced through the remaining Heartless.  
  
"Hey," Cloud whined. "I wanted to do that."  
  
"Sorry," he said bluntly.  
  
Cloud heaved a heavy breath in and sounded sad and defeated. "We've been looking for Yuffie for almost a half hour, Leon." He motioned his hand to the lifeless people lying slain across the cement. "Maybe we should start checking bodies." He choked on his words.  
  
"No," he said harshly. "Yuffie is not dead. I can feel it. Do you really think she would give up that easily?"  
  
"No...I guess not."  
  
"C'mon, let's go."  
  
Cloud reached out and grabbed Squall's sleeve.  
  
"We have to go back to Aerith. If we keep fighting these things we'll collapse. We can look for her later."  
  
Squall removed Cloud's hand on his arm. "You can go if you want."  
  
The truth was, for the split second Cloud had implied Yuffie was dead, terror had struck his heart. He had been thinking along the same lines, but when Cloud had said it, it was like making it final. The only way he could keep going was to fight.  
  
"No, we're leaving, now."  
  
Squall ignored him. He was thinking back to all of the mean things he had said to Yuffie, and did to her, and he had never gotten to say he was sorry. He had always thought he was protecting her from the worst when he turned out to be the true enemy.  
  
He knew she could protect herself. Instead of praising her for a job well done when they practiced, he pushed her down to a lower level and criticized her. He was doing the right thing. You can never get too full of yourself, because that's when you fail, right?  
  
Now he realized he had to be wrong. He never noticed how much she must have craved for praise. She was always going out of her way to take the longer path, or push herself harder.  
  
He wasn't really surprised. She was so much younger than all of them. She probably always felt she had to do everything right or else.  
  
'Or else what?' something whispered across his mind.  
  
Squall started walking to the First District doors like it was his idea to turn back.  
  
"Are you coming or what?" he called over his shoulder to Cloud.  
  
He heard his heavy footsteps running to catch up with him.  
  
He pushed the door open, his mind screaming. Yuffie was gone. Gone out of his reach. He had seen her last just today, getting ready to do something or other to annoy someone...  
  
He stopped short. Aerith and Yuffie were both sitting at the café, looking worn out. He almost passed out. Was this a hallucination?  
  
Cloud ran past him toward the table and lifted Yuffie high in the air like a father and little kid would and swung her around. She laughed and squirmed, embarrassed at his show. Squall composed himself and walked towards the table.  
  
~~~  
  
They were back. Yuffie's fear washed away like it was never there and was replaced with contentment. Well, as content as you could get in the situation. When Cloud released her she sat back down at the table.  
  
She looked around, wondering what happened to Squall.  
  
She saw him headed towards them, his face as emotionless as ever. When was the last time she had seen him smile?  
  
Squall. A name from her past, present, and future. Always stoic, impassive, and indifferent. He was always separated from everyone else, lost in his own thoughts. He only cared about himself and what he wanted.  
  
He pulled out a chair and sat with all of them.  
  
"Did you learn anything while you were out?" Aerith asked anxiously.  
  
Cloud shook his head. "Nothing, whatsoever. All we know is that the Heartless are back at full force. And that Third District is locked with an unknown mechanism."  
  
"Unknown? What do you mean?" Yuffie asked shrilly.  
  
"As in we don't know what it is or how to open it," Squall answered coolly.  
  
"Well excu-u-use me!" she replied just as coolly, stretching out the word 'excuse'.  
  
Underneath her indifferent composure, she felt scared and frightened, just like a mouse up against a cat. They had no clue what they were dealing with. For all they knew, Maleficent had risen from her dark grave and taken over the Heartless.  
  
____  
  
Yuffie shivered in her towel after taking a cold shower. Squall had used up all of the hot water and there was no way she was going to bed covered in dust and bloody scratches. She put on her pajamas which consisted off a pair of flannel pants and a matching tank top covered in little fluffy clouds.  
  
After a gathering in First District, a group of people, including her and Aerith, Cloud, and Squall ventured into Second District to get to the hotel. Having number in groups, most of the Heartless left them alone.  
  
She opened the door of the bathroom and the light contrasted next to the darkness of the room. Squall just had to turn off the lights.  
  
She flicked the switch in the bathroom and the whole room was cast into darkness. She stumbled over to the bed and tried crawling over Squall's sleeping lump form.  
  
Squall's hand shot out from under the blanket and grabbed her ankle. She shrieked and fell over onto the other side of the bed after jumping over him at least a mile high.  
  
"You are definitely not sleeping on the same bed as me."  
  
"It's your turn on the floor," she protested.  
  
"It is not."  
  
Yuffie sighed. "I know, I know, but I don't want to sleep on the floor. It's freezing cold and with your snoring combined I can't go to sleep."  
  
"I don't snore."  
  
"Yes you do."  
  
"No I don't.  
  
"Yes you do.  
  
"No I-SHUT UP!"  
  
"I'm sleeping on the bed with you and if you don't like it YOU can sleep on the floor."  
  
Squall didn't answer.  
  
"Good," she said happily. She had actually won a battle with Squall!  
  
"'Night, Squall."  
  
When he didn't answer with a protest of the choice of name, she sat up and looked at him. His eyes were closed shut, and a snore was escaping his lips. She stifled a laugh and silently laid down on the pillow so as not to disturb him. From what she had heard, he had fought pretty hard earlier.  
  
Yuffie closed her eyes slowly, reveling about everything that happened. Right after peace was finally restored among the worlds, the Heartless come again. It wasn't fair. They would have to call Sora once more.  
  
She sighed and fell asleep, wishing everything was back to before the Heartless came.  
  
~~~  
  
Squall lay awake next to Yuffie. Her warm body heat radiated onto him. He was as tired as heck, but he couldn't fall asleep. All of the bodies littering Second District haunted him and danced around his mind. So many people lost to the Heartless...  
  
His eyes stared into the darkness of the room. The moon, which usually shone through the windows, was covered in a black, foggy smoke.  
  
Darkness. Everyone feared the darkness. No matter where you turn, it's there...in hearts, shadows, Heartless, or even in your friends...even in yourself...  
  
He clenched and unclenched his fist. He had had enough. The Heartless took away everything he had ever had. He was going to find out who was controlling the Heartless again, and kill them. He would get into Third District, one way or another.  
  
~~~  
  
A dark, tall woman stood, surrounded by black. It held her there, the inky dark circling her and caressing her skin. Everything was too dark to see, except for her skin. It was all white, and it stood out against the black.  
  
"Come to me, child. I need you. You are the key to everything I need. Come to me. Don't be frightened. Just follow me...follow me..." her voice said. It was smooth and gave off the impression of fingers slipping against water, just skimming the surface. It held high power.  
  
The woman floated forward. Yuffie whimpered and screamed out, calling for anyone to come and save her. The woman shook a dark finger at her, as if scolding.  
  
"I'll come back for you. You must lead me. I'll see you again, dear one," she whispered out. Her voice echoed and vibrated, refusing to leave her even if the woman did. ___  
  
Yuffie gasped and opened her eyes. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and beads of cool sweat was dripping down her forehead. She yawned and closed her eyes again. She was not waking up now. The dream was just a nightmare, and it was already fading from her mind. She snuggled into the covers and against Squall...  
  
Her eyes flew open. She turned her head sideways. Squall's face was right next to hers. She bit her lip to stop herself from yelling out.  
  
She was about to get up and yell into his ear to wake up, but something held her in place. Squall looked so peaceful when he slept. The scowl on his face was not there. And a scowl is usually one of the only expressions his face used. But not now.  
  
His lips looked soft and warm. His dark brown hair fell into his eyes. He almost looked like he was smiling, the way his lips were turned up. He almost looked comical, but in a sweet, cute way...  
  
Squall turned over on his side and a sleepy daze. Yuffie frowned disappointed. She liked sleeping on the same bed with him, to be able to gaze at him without getting nasty comments out of him.  
  
She reluctantly crawled over him and got out of bed and grabbed some clean clothes. A pair of shorts and a belt to hook her shurikens on, a fitting red shirt, and her white trademark headband.  
  
With her clothes in hand, Yuffie went into the bathroom and shut the door quietly. She dressed quickly and ran a brush through her hair, and splashed cold water on her face before she walked back to the room.  
  
'Strange. I wonder why my moving around didn't wake Squall,' she thought to herself briefly.  
  
She stood next to the bedside and shook his shoulder. He didn't move. She sighed and shook him harder.  
  
"Squall," she called in a singsong voice. "Time to wake up and smell the coffee!"  
  
She heard him muttering something. She shook his shoulder harder. Why wouldn't he wake up?  
  
"Squall! Squall, wake up!"  
  
He opened his eyes. "Leon."  
  
He got out of bed and grabbed some clothes. He had blue bags under his eyes. He stopped having those after the Heartless.  
  
'He must have been up late thinking.'  
  
She walked into the lobby. Aerith and Cloud were talking to each other outside of their room. They stopped talking when they saw her. They had fake smiles on their faces.  
  
"Finally, you're up. Where's Leon?" Aerith asked quietly.  
  
Yuffie stretched and yawned again. "I just had to wake him up. I almost had to use the Jaws of Life! Geez, he's usually up at dawn."  
  
Cloud leaned against the wall and pulled his cape up to cover his face. Aerith stared at it with distaste. The bottom was ripped and torn and he looked completely ridiculous wearing it to cover his face.  
  
"Everyone's still scared about the Heartless. We got hold of Sora, and he's going to be here soon. Apparently the world walls are down. Right now, no one is going into Second District..." Cloud trailed off. Aerith had her head on his chest. He kissed her hair.  
  
Yuffie sighed. "No one knows anything?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Squall came out of the room in a fresh pair of clothes, gripping his Gunblade in one hand. He slung it over his shoulder.  
  
"What's the verdict?" he asked.  
  
"We don't know," Cloud answered.  
  
"Well, we better go do something. I'm not just going to sit around and wait for the Heartless to destroy again. Let's go kill them."  
  
"We can't kill all of them. They'll just keep coming back," Yuffie protested.  
  
"You're right, Yuffie," Squall said.  
  
She beamed.  
  
"WE can't do anything, but Cloud and I can."  
  
Yuffie rolled her eyes. Of course, when would Squall ever say she was right?  
  
"Let's get something to eat before I pass out," Yuffie suggested, and stared down at her stomach. It was grumbling and demanding to be acknowledged.  
  
"All right. Maybe food will take our minds off of this." Aerith rubbed her temples and walked with Cloud towards the café. Yuffie trailed behind their linked arms, and Squall even further behind her.  
  
They took their usual table and sat down comfortably. Everything was quiet. The usual people who came to eat here were probably at their homes and waiting to see what would happen next. Aerith sat across Cloud, Yuffie sat next to Aerith, and Squall sat across Yuffie next to Cloud. (A/N: It's a bit confusing to read this but if you picture it it's easier to see.)  
  
"Yuffie, why don't you go and get the food?" Aerith asked.  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"Just do it, Yuffie."  
  
Yuffie grumbled and slipped out of her seat and came back a few minutes later carrying sandwiches. They were all leaning forward in their seats in deep conversation. Yuffie frowned and felt cut.  
  
So this is why they wanted her to get the food. So they could talk without her being there.  
  
Yuffie frowned and approached them. They stopped talking immediately when Yuffie sat down. She dished out the sandwiches angrily and bit into hers.  
  
"What's wrong?" Aerith asked her while unwrapping her tuna sandwich.  
  
"Nothing," she said harshly.  
  
"Nothing, eh?" Cloud said around a mouthful of peanut butter.  
  
"Yes, that's exactly right."  
  
"Touchy, aren't we?" Squall said in a rhetorical fashion.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Is it that time of month?" Cloud persisted.  
  
"No! I am totally fine!" she said angrily. She could feel her face heat up.  
  
They ate their sandwiches in silence. Yuffie wanted to say something, but each time she opened her mouth, she glanced at her friends and shut it. She finished her sandwich and threw it away in the trashcan, then went back to the table.  
  
Her heart fell. They were talking without her again. Something felt like it was moving at the back of her mind and clearing out the cobwebs.  
  
'Yes, that's right, do you see them? They don't care at all about you. They just wait for you to leave so they can talk without you bothering them,' whispered a voice in her head. It seemed oddly familiar.  
  
She hesitated, afraid to feel like a fool, but gave in to herself. "Are you...in my mind?" she whispered.  
  
'Yes. I am always with you. I can hear every subconscious and conscious though in your head.'  
  
Yuffie felt something again. But this time, she was reassured. She walked confidently up to her friends and sat down. Before she could stop herself, she asked, "So, what were you guys talking about when I was gone?"  
  
"N-nothing," Aerith stuttered.  
  
"Sure. I really believe you, Aerith. You're the worst liar their ever was," Yuffie said harshly. She touched her hand to her throat. Had she really just said that?  
  
"I'm sorry, Aerith. I didn't mean to say that, I..."  
  
Again, she felt the odd pulling sensation in her mind.  
  
"...really meant to say you and everyone else here are the biggest idiots I know. I know how you really feel about me."  
  
Yuffie's eyes widened. She really hadn't meant to say that!  
  
"Don't flatter yourself," Squall said.  
  
Aerith touched Yuffie's arm. "Are you okay?"  
  
Her eyes filled with tears. "I don't know," she whispered. As soon as she felt the tugging in the back of her head, she forced it back. Strangely, she felt it throb with life. She shook her head. What was happening to her? Her mind was playing tricks on her.  
  
She rubbed her temples and felt a head ache coming on.  
  
"Knew she was PMSing," Cloud said to himself. He rolled up his sandwich in the plastic wrap and tossed it in the trash.  
  
Aerith swatted his hand playfully.  
  
'See,' said the voice in her head. 'She doesn't care about the mean things they say about you. And right in front of you, too.'  
  
Yuffie rubbed her temples a little bit harder.  
  
"Get-out!" she said through clenched teeth.  
  
"What?" Aerith asked.  
  
"Nothing," she said quickly.  
  
Squall stood up and grabbed his Gunblade which was leaning against the wall. He held it over his shoulder and walked to the door, and turned around.  
  
"I'm going to Second District to actually do something to figure this out," he said curtly.  
  
They watched him go and didn't make a move to follow him. When he got like this, they knew better than to follow him.  
  
Yuffie stood up after Squall left.  
  
"I'm going to the hotel. I think I need to lie down," she said softly, and ran to the door. She pushed it open and saw Squall just ahead of her. She crept a few yards behind him. She saw him open Second District doors.  
  
She hesitated. Did she want to follow him in there? Her shurikens probably couldn't do too much against the Heartless. She took a deep breath, and before she could change her mind she pushed the doors open and shut them behind her.  
  
She took a few steps forward, looking for Squall. He wasn't there. She stared ahead. The sky above the District was just starting to turn black with the fog.  
  
"Isn't fog usually white?" she said to herself while taking a few more timid steps forward.  
  
'Not always, my dear,' said the familiar voice.  
  
She concentrated hard on pushing it away.  
  
The voice laughed. 'Each second that passes by I grow stronger and stronger in your mind. Since you obviously are too ignorant to do as I ask, I will soon take your body and lead your friends to me.'  
  
Yuffie cried out and felt tugging at her mind, and for a few moments all she saw was black. She fell on the cement, gripping her head.  
  
Someone was shaking her. She opened her eyes and screamed. She cowered below her. HER. The woman from her dream. It hit her why the voice sounded so familiar.  
  
She was wrapped in the blackness that seemed to be alive, groping around her and caressing her skin like the mist that comes from a waterfall, only thicker.  
  
The woman smiled down at her, and she felt a hard, stabbing pain in her head. She cried out again and felt tears slipping out of her eyes. Colors flashed behind her eyelids. Red and black, then back to red again.  
  
"That's right; I never told you my name. You can call me...Yvonne."  
  
She squeezed her eyes shut and shrieked. The woman smiled and said, "What the hell? Yuffie? Look at me!"  
  
She squeezed the tears out of her eyes to see better and the vision of the woman drifted away. It was Squall who had been there all along. He was kneeling down next to her and was slapping her face.  
  
When she looked up at him, a look of pure terror on her face, he stopped slapping her.  
  
"What is wrong with you? You were cowering on the ground and screaming and crying, and when I tried to stop you, you went ballistic," he said in an unknown tone of voice. Was he actually...concerned?  
  
Yuffie wiped her eyes. "I'm fine."  
  
She stood up unsteadily but balanced herself. She touched her stinging cheek from where Squall had been slapping her. She pulled her hand away and stared at her fingers. They were wet with her tears.  
  
She heaved a shaky sigh and had one hand on a shuriken.  
  
"What were you doing in Second District? If anyone was to come with me, it should have been Squall. Not Aerith, and definitely not you."  
  
"I can do whatever I want. The last time I checked, I was my own person."  
  
She felt stirring in her head, and a stab of pain. She cried out and gripped her head. She bit her lip and tried to ignore the pain. She could have sworn she heard the woman laughing in the back of her head, taunting her.  
  
"Go back to Aerith and get to sleep. You're obviously not well."  
  
"I'm fine! Leave me alone, okay?"  
  
Squall raised his eyebrows. Yuffie scowled and ran ahead of him in an attempt to ignore his existence. She REALLY couldn't deal with him at the moment.  
  
She heard his trail of footsteps behind her. Soon they got more and more distant. She looked over her shoulder. She was surrounded by black.  
  
"Squall!" she called out, whimpering. She saw a flick of white skin from the corner of her eye. She turned around in a circle, and ran as fast as she could.  
  
She kept running until her side was aching. She staggered and something was holding her back. She couldn't move.  
  
'I can't move! I can't move!' she thought frantically.  
  
"Squall!" she called out again.  
  
She heard Squall's voice. It was distant, saying her name and words of comfort.  
  
"This is only a sliver of my power," she heard the voice say.  
  
She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them. She was buried in Squall's arms, sobbing and trying to run away.  
  
He stared down at her and didn't let her go. He held her there. She broke down and squeezed her hands around his waist, sobbing into his chest and wetting his shirt. He remained silent until she pulled away, wiping her eyes.  
  
"I'm bringing you back to the hotel. The Heartless won't go into the hotel."  
  
Yuffie wiped her eyes, feeling embarrassed. This was the second time he had seen her break-down. She must be going crazy.  
  
She walked sullenly to the hotel and into her room. Squall closed the door behind her and left the building. She collapsed on the bed.  
  
She marveled at what Squall had done for her. He had been so nice. He had never held her in his arms like that, not ever. It made her feel so happy that she could ignore Yvonne's messages in her head, and her strange appearances.  
  
With a smile on her face, she drifted into sleep.  
  
~~~  
  
Squall strode across the cement pavement. Each Shadow that ran up to meet him got a taste of his Gunblade, instead. He wasn't sure what had just happened with Yuffie, but something made her break down.  
  
She started screaming his name and ran around blindly, seeing right through him like he wasn't there. Finally he had grabbed her and held her close. She calmed down then broke into tears. The only thing he thought he could do was hold her like no one else ever had.  
  
He shook his head and sliced through another Shadow like it was a slice of bread and opened the doors to First District. Aerith, Cloud, and Cid were gathered around the Accessory Shop. Cid was holding out a gummi block and admiring it.  
  
Squall stood next to them and studied the block.  
  
"Hm. Seems good," he said. Cid nodded his head and chewed on his toothpick. He used to smoke, but Yuffie had convinced him to quit and now he had resorted to toothpicks.  
  
"Have you seen Yuffie anywhere?" Aerith asked Squall. "She said she was going back to the hotel but I knew she wouldn't be stupid enough to go alone."  
  
"She started acting strange so I sent her to bed," he said absently.  
  
"WHAT?" everyone but Squall exclaimed together.  
  
"Yeah." He gave them a look.  
  
What was the problem? The Heartless wouldn't go into the hotel, and nevertheless, Yuffie could fend for herself.  
  
"B-but it's dangerous for her to be alone!" Aerith sputtered.  
  
"Awww," said Cid. "She'll be fine, that 'un."  
  
Aerith sighed and crossed her arms. "I'm worried about her. She didn't seem all to well when she left the café."  
  
Squall wondered what she would think if she had seen Yuffie when he had seen her. He gave her a hard look and decided against bringing it up.  
  
"I guess I'll just go check on her a little later..." Aerith trailed off, shaking her head. "This is worse than the first time. Everyone is so afraid."  
  
Cloud wrapped his arms around her and said into her hair, "Don't worry. Sora is on his way. I'm sure we'll get this figured out and get behind who raised the Heartless again."  
  
Aerith smiled and leaned into him.  
  
___  
  
Every passing day, Yuffie started becoming more and more unlike herself. Big, blue bags appeared under her bloodshot eyes. Her hands trembled with every movement, and the littlest noise made her jump.  
  
When Sora came in his gummi ship, she had stared at him blankly and said nothing. When she did talk to everyone, she sounded different, so unlike herself that everyone thought she was coming down with something. Her voice even shifted to a different tone.  
  
Then there were times when she acted like her normal self, only much more frightened. She would practically crawl on the ground to them, mumbling incoherent words and asking for help.  
  
Aerith bit her lip and watched Yuffie from across the room. She was sitting at the table in the Green Room, holding up a glass of water. It shook in her hands. She raised it to her lips, but it spilled all over her first.  
  
"Oh...my...I guess I'll have to...clean that up," she said blankly. She stood up in her chair and sat on the bed, her clothes dripping. Aerith's eyes filled with tears. What was happening to her?  
  
The doctors that came to see her couldn't figure out what was wrong, but they blamed it on the encore of Heartless. And still no one could get into Third District.  
  
Squall and Cloud opened the door of the room quietly, their clothes covered in black Heartless blood. They stared at Yuffie motionlessly.  
  
Yuffie turned her head to them mechanically. She smiled and said, "I'm so glad all of you are here now. I've been waiting to see you all in one group. On the fifth of June, two weeks from now, at midnight, you will come to Third District to save your friend. The doors will be unlocked. Prepare to fight for your lives."  
  
Aerith walked over to her and gripped her shoulder. "Yuffie, stop it, stop it, please, get a hold of yourself!" Tears brimmed over and spilled down her cheeks.  
  
Something flickered behind Yuffie's eyes. "Aerith..." she said weakly. She collapsed on the ground and convulsed. Black mist encircled her body and covered her from view. Aerith screamed.  
  
Before she disappeared, Yuffie whispered, "Sorry..."  
  
Aerith fell onto the floor where Yuffie's body had been. She touched the floor hesitantly, then harder, patting it, trying to bring her back in vain.  
  
"Yuffie! Yuffie, stop playing games! Stop! Please! Come back...!" Aerith cried. Cloud stood at the doorframe, stunned. Squall stood next to him. He had just seen her disappear, with the flick of a wrist and a blink of an eye she was gone.  
  
Aerith cried hysterically. Cloud snapped out of his trance and ran over to her and picked her up from the ground and held her like a baby on his lap, holding her head to his shoulder. She sobbed and beat his chest.  
  
Squall slid down to the floor, his head in his hands. He had lost her, and this time she wouldn't just be mistaken gone when she was really with a friend. She was gone, and he had no clue what to do next.  
  
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I LOVE this story so far! I know there are a few things I can make better, but I really don't know what to do with them. Please, please, PLEASE tell me what you think of this one.  
  
Can you figure out who the villain behind all of this is? It's kind of obvious, isn't it? I think...at least. I hope it was long enough for you. I know some things are unclear but it will start to become more apparent in the oncoming chappies. (Chapters for all of those brain-dead out there. Oh, wait, I am, too! Yippee! Okay, now I'm REALLY scaring myself.) 


	2. Wolf

Disclaimer: I own squat. 

Oh, umm...I just re-read my first chapter and I noticed all of the typos I made! Yikes! I'll try and make up for it with this grammar and spelling perfect chapter. Yeah right. ^_^

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Yuffie crouched in the fetal position, gripping her legs to her chest and whimpering. The woman, Yvonne, stood before her, laughing heartily. She was once again in the pitch black warp hole; the only thing visible was Yvonne's white skin, and the black, thick mist that encircled her body. 

"Now your friends will come to me. Do you know why I want them?" 

Yuffie shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut and felt tears spring to life. She felt as if her body were sinking into pudding that just barely held her up. Is this what Yvonne felt like in her mist?

A strange, foreign tongue left Yvonne's mouth as she whispered to the dark fog around her. It seemed to respond, and cleared away from her body. 

"Open your eyes, child," she whispered huskily. 

"No!"

"I said open them."

Against her will, Yuffie's eyes opened and she saw Yvonne behind the name and the mask. She screamed loudly and passed out. 

She whispered to the fog and it willingly came back to her. She held her hand out. The fog formed into the recognizable shape of a kitten. She petted its head and stared down at the weak, shivering girl. 

She mumbled something to the fog and it transported her to the Third District. 

___

Yuffie opened her eyes and glanced around. She blinked. Yes, she could blink, but were her eyes closed? 

She rubbed her eyes and stared into the black abyss, and sank back into her pudding blackness, a sob escaping her lips. She was being held in black, all black. For all she knew, she would be held here until she died. 

She hummed a hysterical tune to herself and rocked on her heels, her eyes darting around her and behind her. One of her worst fears was to be in complete, utter darkness, her whole self vulnerable to attack. 

Several minutes passed. She couldn't keep count. She might have been here for five minutes, or two days. 

Were her friends looking for her? She could picture them now...or maybe not. She could still remember the scene from the café when they talked sullenly behind her back. 

She lay down. The black floor started to sink under her weight and cushion her body. It started to suck her in. Yuffie sprang up and tried to get to her feet, but she felt herself falling through, emotionally and physically. 

She screamed and tried to grip onto something and catch herself. Yuffie started to fall faster until she could hear the wind whipping past her ears. It was so powerful she couldn't move her head and barely keep her eyelids open. 

The rate she was falling at started to slow. 

_Believe in the light within. Only you can help yourself. Feel the power pulsing through your veins and believe. Darkness will engulf only the weak and greedy. Keep your heart shining through and you will be saved. _

For some reason, Yuffie felt comforted by a strange force that swept across her. She had little time to analyze it, for there was an opening in the blackness. She fell through it and landed on soft soil. She stared around. One minute she was in blackness, and the next she was in a lovely forest.

Yuffie stood up and breathed in the fresh air. The sun smiled down at her and the sky winked at her with a blue sky. 

She laughed and twirled around. When was the last time she had seen sunshine? When she lived in Hollow Bastion...Traverse Town only had nighttime. 

She could hear birds chirping in the vast amount of tall oaks, pines, and maples. They flew across the sky like something she had never seen before. 

_Believe..._

She started walking up a hill. It was very steep and made her calf muscles ache, but it felt better than being a useless blob in pitch darkness. 

She got to the top faster than she expected. She covered her eyes to shade out the sun and looked in all directions. To the east was a forest, the south had mountains, the west was a field of flowers, and to the north was a cottage that was parallel to a stream.

Yuffie let her hands drop to her sides and she started running to the cottage. Maybe someone could explain to her what had been happening. 

She stopped at the door and knocked twice. When no one answered, she pushed open the door and walked inside. 

"Hello?!" she called. On the inside, the cottage was two rooms, a kitchen, and then a living space with a couch and a bed. Connected to the kitchen was some sort of bathroom. 

"Anyone in here? Please help me!" 

No one answered. She sat on the couch and wondered when she would ever get home. 

She looked up when she heard the click of dog nails on the hardwood floors. She looked into the kitchen doorway and gasped. Correction. WOLF nails. 

The big, white wolf must have come up to her thighs on all fours. The whiteness of his fur made Yuffie stare in wonder. Most white wolves she had seen in pictures were a yellowish off-white, but he was pure, snow white. He had golden eyes that held a strange power, much like Yvonne's. 

Yuffie laughed nervously and leaned into the couch. The big wolf came forward, his head held high with dignity. He stopped at her feet and licked her ankles. 

She gasped. When he opened her mouth, she expected his huge fangs to bite down into her skin. 

_Be careful in your actions. She is watching you, right now, in rage. You escaped her first plan, but you have not escaped her all together. Whenever you need me, come here. You are one of my kind and you saved me from a horrible death. Now I am helping you through your weakest time. Remember, I will always be watching. _

Yuffie's mind swirled. Did she really hear that? It felt just like when she was falling, only now she could hear the words in her mind. Was it the wolf communicating with her telepathically? 

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Oh my gosh, this is soo short, but I can hardly remember where I was going with this story!!!

More up later, if I can find my sheet of paper with the info...

I might delete this story and put it on hold. When I finish my other stories and have more time, I'll probably re-write it and make it better...you know, a better plot and all. Tell me what you think!!!


	3. Distrust

Disclaimer: Nope...I don't own Kingdom Hearts. You know, this is getting useless. I might as well never write one of these again. I don't think I will. This is a FAN FICTION site! As in, FAN FICTION! Who started doing these disclaimers anyway? What a horrible fad...

Well, please read and review. I hope you all like this, my interest in this story is slowly wearing down...but I'll try, for anyone who is still reading this!

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Yuffie leaned a little bit closer to the wolf. 

"What...what are you?" she asked in a whisper. 

_A part of you...somewhere hidden deep within that you never felt you had before. You called upon me without knowing it. _

"But...how did I save you?"

The wolf sat down on his haunches and stared at her.

_When a person is born, they are a whole. Every part of them is innocent and pure and true. As they grow older, their beliefs are shaped to conform to society and what they think is the right thing, what they think is acceptable. As a person goes through this transformation, slowly but surely, they lose a part of themselves, their real selves. You never lost me...you stayed true to yourself and kept me intact by believing. Not many people can do that. _

"Oh. I think I get it, now. But what is this place? Why am I here?"

_You have forgotten so quickly. This place...you don't remember, do you?_

Yuffie shook her head as a no. 

_You were so little when you first came here. You fell in love with it. It was stored in your memories as a good place to be; a peaceful place away from danger._

"And?"

_What Yvonne is doing is the highest, truest form of fear and pain you have ever, and will ever, go through. She calls her power from darkness...it is not her own, nor is it real. Yours, however, is from within, and from your friends. The darkness colliding with your light and spirit was too much, and you were thrust into a happy, childhood place to keep you safe. Like an unconscious counterattack._

"I see. What is Yvonne planning?"

_Yvonne is a vengeful, evil woman, you must realize that. She has no rational thinking, she is so beyond repair. Her mind is set on two things: destruction and revenge. She will do anything to right what she thinks was taken away from her. _

"But what's that?"

_You haven't fully realized who she is, have you?_

"No...it's true. I just...saw her hideousness...and I....it was too much for me to bear."

_Think hard of whom it is. It cannot be kept secret much longer._

"Uh..."

_Think..._

"It has to be...well, who do we know who is tall, dark, and evil? A woman with pure white skin?"

_Maleficent.___

"No! That's freakin' impossible! Sora and his friends defeated her a long time ago!"

_Darkness can never be destroyed._

"No! It can't be true!" 

Yuffie buried her face into the couch and felt hot tears trickle down her cheeks. 

"I can't do this! I'm not strong enough! Why me? What does she want with me?"

_When Maleficent was killed, she called upon the most supreme powers of evil known to mankind. It is almost impossible to handle...as you can see, it swallowed Ansem and everyone who followed the path of darkness. The impact of the force on her body and Sora's hits killed her, but she never fully died. A part of her self was still sacrificed to the darkness; she entrusted her soul to it in return for power. Meaning, only her body was destroyed. She remained in the midst of darkness. In order to be able to move around, she had to possess a human, a weaker human, and then suck the power out of the human. That was you. Your thoughts of your friends turning against you brought dark thoughts to the corner of your mind, allowing a portal from Maleficent, or Yvonne, to you._

"I didn't mean to think those thoughts! How was I supposed to know that I would make a portal?"

_You did not know._

The wolf stood up and started pacing the floor.

"So what's your name?"

_Arcanine._

"What does it mean?"

_Well...arcane means mysterious, and canine means dog, so together, it means mysterious dog._

"Oh. I like it! But...what are we going to do now? I mean...we have to wait two weeks for the doors of Third District to open. Right? And she's going to do something to me, if she can get me, and keep me somewhere in Third District..."

_Yes. She will probably hold you hostage as bait for __Leon__, Cloud, Aerith, and Sora. She will try to defeat your friends and then use you for something...she might need to possess you again, or might sacrifice you to darkness._

"Sacrifice...m-me?" 

_Do not worry. Your friends are strong individually as well as united. They will save you...with my help._

Yuffie smiled and got up off the couch and ran a hand through her short black hair. "I'm so nervous...I can't stand this..." 

Tears sprang up to her eyes. She wiped them away. Arcanine stared at her with his big golden eyes.

She walked to the door of the cabin and stared out. "It's so pretty here...but it's fake. Just a creation of my mind."

_Not entirely. It is partially real. _

Yuffie looked surprised. "Really? Well...don't bother wasting your breath on me; I won't understand it, anyway."

~~~ 

Yuffie hit Arcanine with another shuriken and quickly did a back-flip away from him to hit him again.

For the past couple of days, Arcanine had been letting Yuffie practice on him. The shurikens didn't hurt him or damage him in any way, so he provided an ideal moving target. 

She threw another one and it nicked him straight in between his nose. 

"Bull's eye!" she shouted gleefully. 

Arcanine threw his head. His white fur was ruffled and he was panting hard.

_Lucky shot. _

"Admit it! I got you, this time!" 

_...._

She rolled her eyes and put a hand on Arcanine's back. 

"You just can't take the heat," she said with a giggle. 

_...._

"Oh come on! You can't be perfect every time!" 

_...._

She plopped down onto the grass and stared up at the sky, clutching her knees to her chest. Arcanine settled down next to her and let his tongue hang out of his mouth.

"I really got you this time, huh?" 

_No..._

"Oh GOD! Don't go all Squall on me, now!" she shouted. Arcanine stared up at the sky.

She sighed and followed Arcanine's gaze without really seeing anything. She missed Squall...and Arcanine reminded her of him so much. She missed Aerith, and she missed Cloud. Damn it! Why was this happening to her? 

_Yuffie! Leave, now!_

She snapped out of her trance and stared at Arcanine. "What?"

He growled and snapped his jaws at her fiercely. 

"I'm going, I'm going!" 

She stood up and wiped off the back of her jean shorts and made a dash for the cabin. What was up with him? 

She opened up the door and slammed it behind her. She looked outside to where Arcanine was and saw something floating toward him. So that was what he was looking at...

She narrowed her eyes and tried to see better. It was black...a woman shaped, black figure...

Yuffie jumped back from the door. Was it Yvonne—Maleficent, again? 

She ran out the back door and ran into the woods, gasping for breath. Her arms and legs were pumping hard, trying to gain speed, powered by fear and adrenaline. This really was happening...it was not a dream...a reality. A cruel reality.

She stumbled over a fallen tree trunk and toppled onto the ground. She emitted a soft 'oof' and quickly stood up again. 

_What would Aerith do if she saw me like this, _Yuffie thought. _Or Cloud, or Cid, or Squall, or even Sora and his friends?__ They would think I was weak...horrible, even...I should have known._

Tears stung her eyes and blurred her vision. Her mind was hazy. How were her legs moving? It was as if they had a life of their own. 

_So this is where The Great Ninja Yuffie ends up..._she thought.

She wiped the tears out of her eyes as she was running and stumbled again. This time, though, she held herself up and kept on running. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she had to go somewhere far away from Yvonne. 

She whipped her head behind her to see if Yvonne was following her. Her foot's next step landed on air. She felt her stomach drop out.

She looked back and screamed as she plummeted over the edge of the cliff. Her hands tried to grab onto something but only closed around air. 

Her arms flailed around, trying to grab onto something. Something solid came into contact with her groping hand and stopped her fall almost immediately.

She gripped onto the branch that stuck itself out of the side of the cliff and moved her feet around slowly, feeling for a place to put them. She whimpered.

_Don't look down...don't look down..._she told herself continuously. 

She couldn't help it. It was one of those things. You tell yourself not to think of purple, and you can't get it off of your mind. You tell yourself not to look down, you have to. 

So she looked down.

Her mind spun and she felt a dangerous dizzy spell coming on. Her feet dangled into the air. The drop was so far down; the forest of trees underneath it looked like Lego's.

She whimpered and looked up. She had only fallen about ten feet. Could she climb herself up? 

Her palms grew sweaty and it was becoming harder to keep a good grip on the branch. Sweat beads dropped off of her forehead and down to the trees below. Such a long drop...

Yuffie's mouth tasted like acid and she felt something come up her throat. She swallowed it down and felt nauseous. 

_This is the end...you'll never see Squall or Aerith or Cloud or Cid or Sora or anyone. Say good-bye to ice-cream, sunshine, __Traverse__Town__, friends, oceans, ribbons, kittens, and your headband. Say good-bye to life._

Tears fell down her cheeks in a cascade, on after another, after another. It was only a matter of time before she slipped, or until she decided to let go and end it all quicker. 

The sun stung her eyes and beat down onto her back. Her skin crawled and she had goose bumps. Goose bumps in the sun...go figure.

"Help..." she whispered in a shaky voice. There was no one there to hear her. She was sick of that...so sick of it. If she ever got out of this...

_Keep dreaming, Yuffie..._she told herself.

Where was Arcanine? Did Yvonne kill him? Or did he escape? Maybe that wasn't Yvonne. Maybe it was all a false alarm. It could have been something else...but then running away would have been a waste, and now her life would end. 

Carefully and ever so slowly, she released one hand holding her up. Her hand shook like an electric toothbrush. She grasped onto a ledge and let go of her other hand and grabbed onto another ledge. 

Shakily, she grasped onto a ledge higher than that and pulled herself up. It took all the strength she had. She kept grabbing and pulling, grabbing and pulling. 

She stopped and breathed in a few gasps of air. Her muscles were aching and groaning, and now she was certain she wouldn't make it. She was two ledges away, but she couldn't find the strength to do it.

_Just two more...come on...I can do this..._

She lifted another hand like it weighed one-hundred pounds and grabbed onto the ledge and pulled herself up. She waited a few seconds and grabbed onto the other one.

_Just one more shove..._

She pulled herself up onto solid ground and stumbled as far away as she could from the death ledge and fell into a cool stream. Sobs shook her body and tears filled up her eyes and flowed onto her cheeks.

After five minutes, she stood up, her clothes sopping wet and her face tear-stained. 

_But I still made it._

She traced her steps back through the forest. Where were Yvonne and Arcanine? It seemed like they hadn't come for her. 

She stopped and peered through the trees when the cabin was visible. There was no movement at all. She didn't see anything.

She came through the trees and approached the cabin cautiously. Yvonne might have captured Arcanine, or she might have killed him. She could be waiting in the cabin for her. 

She opened the back door of the cabin and stepped inside. She crept as swiftly and quietly as she could. 

A whooshing sound filled the air and something cool and misty rolled onto her skin.

"Do not look, darling, you know who it is," the voice hissed into her ear. 

Yuffie shrieked and felt her body droop towards the floor. The mist held her up.

"Ah, ah, ah, you're coming with me," Yvonne said smoothly. 

"W-where is Arcanine? What ar-are you going to do with me?" Yuffie whispered.

"Only time will tell, foolish girl."

"Little, little girl, how sad and pitiful she looks," whispered an airy voice. It sounded like many different people—things—whispering the same thing at once. It was coming from the icy black mist that held her with an iron grip. 

"Yes. Weak and naïve. Oh, how _easy _it was to fool her. Her friends care nothing about her, or that dog."

"No, you're wrong!" Yuffie said uncertainly. "And Arcanine is a wolf!" 

A whoosh-like, shaky noise came from the mist. She took it as laughing. She groaned and tried to shake herself out of its grip. How could mist hold her in place, anyway. 

She shook her head. That wasn't important. What was important is her friends. Is what she said true? Maybe Yvonne was right...they didn't care about her...

Yuffie's head dropped. 

"Yes, that's right, they have not one ounce of care for you. You must come with me...with us...we will welcome you with open arms."

"Yes..." Yuffie squeaked weakly. "You _are _right..."

...wasn't she? 

Yvonne smiled. Her white skin was still as visible as ever. 

The mist released her. She fell to the floor in a crumpled pile. A used, worthless piece of human. 

"Follow me..." Yvonne whispered into her ear huskily. She drifted out the open door. 

Yuffie stood up, tears of pain and anger in her eyes. She was right. And now there was nothing her friends could do about it. 

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I know, I know, this is extremely short, but I liked the way this ended. Please review! I'm started to get interested in this story again, mainly because of the enthusiastic reviewers. Thanks guys! 

And all of you who guessed Maleficent was right. Maleficent had to be a normal person at one point, so I named her Yvonne. Just a little disguise there. 


	4. Falling

I know what you're all thinking. You can't believe I actually updated this, right? You thought I had given up on it, right? Nope! You see, I started this story so I really want to finish it. Now that I have finished "Fallen" and "Summer Nights" I can finally complete "Terrorized!" It's just been sitting with three chapters for too long. I promise I won't start any more stories when I'm done with this one, but I have a ton of ideas. I can't remember the last time I updated this, but I'm happy I left off where I did. It makes it easier for me to get back in tune with the story.

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_Terrorized_

_Chapter Four_

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Yuffie stood outside the cabin and took her last look at it. This place had been her shelter and her security, along with Arcanine. Now she was to leave it for better things and a better life where people would all love her. Not like her friends...not like them at all.

Yvonne stood next to her, waiting for her to finish her silent good-byes. Yuffie turned to her with a short sigh that she cut off quickly before it could evoke emotion. This was definitely what she wanted to do.

Yvonne held out her hand and she took it willingly, letting the mist enclose around her like a baby blanket and whisk her up into the air as if she weighed nothing. With her hand, Yuffie cleared away some of the mist so she could see the green grass down below, and watch the cabin grow smaller and smaller.

"Where are we going?" Yuffie asked curiously. The dark silk caressed her skin like it did Yvonne's, and she was beginning to think it did that involuntarily.

"Back to Third District. I suppose since you have so intelligently chosen to work with me and not against me, you can stay with me in Merlin's home, if you could call it that. I need to evict the old fool and that old woman who mutters stupid chants all day," she replied coolly.

Yuffie nodded and looked up into the sky. She gasped and covered her mouth. There was a huge hole in the sky, revealing blackness. It resembled a patch that might be on an old pair of jeans.

"Don't make me go back in there..." she whispered. Yuffie recognized the place immediately. It was where Yvonne kept her before she found her way to Arcanine.

"Hush, child," she snapped. The mist led them through the dark place. The air was thicker than Yuffie remembered. She coughed and clutched her throat, pulling in gulps of air that didn't leave her satisfied.

Another hole in the sky appeared, a black one, though it was different. White and blue stars dotted the skies, and a sliver of moon hung reliably, as always in her Traverse Town. She took in large breaths of air and sighed happily. She could breathe again.

Her happiness was stopped abruptly when she saw the state all of Traverse Town was in. From her position in the sky, she could see all the districts, which were falling into a state of disrepair. The stores were covered in graffiti, with broken windows and looted objects. The café was empty. All of the people were gone. Broken glass and box litter was scattered everywhere. The only movement was the wind blowing dirt and paper across the streets, as well as a few Heartless that seemed to be on guard.

_Strange, the old Heartless used to roam wherever they wanted, without real thoughts on what to do. These look like they have an actual duty..._

She pushed down the lump in her throat. What happened? Where were her friends?

"Not your friends," Yvonne corrected.

"How did you know...?"

"What you were thinking? Remember, I'm still attached to you. I can't live if you're not alive."

Yuffie sighed as they passed over her home. She looked desperately for Aerith or Cloud or Squall or even Cid. But they weren't her friends...so...what would she say to them?

"Here we are," Yvonne said and started lowering them to the ground. A small handful of Heartless flocked under them, waiting for Yvonne to get to them. She smiled at them as their feet touched the ground. The mist let go of her, dropping her to the ground.

"Ahh, my children..." she whispered to them. One came forward, lowering itself to her. She put a pale, slender hand on its head and sighed with relief. "As you can see, I have created them much more powerful and intelligent than before. They know what they're doing."

Yuffie nodded, her hands shaking. She had never been this close to a Heartless, and she had definitely never been surrounded by so many without Squall by her side.

"Away with you. Go find some hearts to steal," she said to them, and they quickly scurried away into the shadows, moving stealthily.

"They make me feel so alive," she said in a rich voice, then laughed haughtily. "Now," she said, approaching the big wooden door with a flame emblem on the front. "To find out how to get in to this place."

She put her hands on it and expectantly sent out waves of dark magic to blow the door off. It didn't even budge. "Hm..."

Turning around, she backed away and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and chanting a mantra that made Yuffie shudder with chills.

When that didn't work, Yvonne's eyes flared. "How do you get into this door?" she spat, her eyes narrowing at Yuffie. The mist hissed at her anger.

"I-I-don't kn-know," she stuttered.

"You fool! Of course you know! The Keyblade Master opened this door, I know it! You've lived here long enough to find out!"

"No, I-I—I think you need black magic."

"Magic," she said angrily. "What kind of black magic?"

"I don't know."

"Stop playing ignorant with me!"

By this time, Yuffie was in tears, leaning forward. "I'm sorry, I..." _Can't tell you! _She wanted to say. Instead she replied with, "I don't know."

"Must I do everything myself? I suppose I could pay a visit to that precious Aerith. She would know. Of course she would."

"Wait! Okay. You have to send a fire spell at the emblem," she said quickly. Yvonne couldn't hurt them. Even if they hated her and she wouldn't be on their side, Aerith had done too much for her.

"I see some of your loyalty still lies with your friends. Don't worry, that will soon change," she said, her cool and calm voice back again. She outstretched her hand and placed it on the emblem. A surge of fiery spells shot into the emblem, thus opening the door.

"Let us continue..."

Yvonne floated over the stones, but Yuffie still had to jump them. She did it gracefully and landed on the other side, the grass slick with moisture. Yvonne was inside already. She walked around the side and opened up the flap.

Merlin was cowering in the corner of the room, holding up his hands. His wand was broken into pieces that scattered the floor. Yvonne was floating up above him, laughing quietly. "Good. Everything is easier when you cooperate, isn't it? Coward."

Her eyes closed briefly and she held out her hand, forming a small orb of dark matter, holding it carefully. It floated two inches off her palm. Merlin gasped and tried to grab at his chest. Something was escaping and floating toward the orb. His heart.

It entered the orb, and it grew slightly bigger. She laughed and watched as Merlin gasped, then eventually drifted into death.

"Death is such a beautiful thing, isn't it?" she said with a sigh. She lifted her foot and crushed the small carriage that the Fairy Godmother lived in. "So beautiful..."

Yuffie sat at a small table and watched Yvonne pet the mist and speak in a low whisper to it, using the language that she couldn't recognize.

"Only two more days, my darling, two more days before I have my revenge on your friends. Two more days and my soul will be independent, and I can make the ultimate sacrifice to the gods...two more days..." she said to Yuffie, her black eyes focused on something else.

Yuffie furrowed her eyebrows together in concern. What sacrifice? What did she mean, living independently? Didn't she need her to live?

"Sleep now, child, and prepare yourself for a battle you will never forget!" she said in a hushed whisper. She murmured something else and felt sleepiness take her over and make her eye-lids droop shut.

=====

Squall flung his Gunblade toward Cloud in the Waterway, who swiftly jumped backwards and spun around, about to make a blow, which Squall blocked effortlessly.

They were training, and had been training since Yuffie had been kidnapped. While everyone hid in their houses, just waiting for the Heartless to kill them, they actually tried to do something about it.

"Only two more days," Cloud said quickly, a drop of sweat rolling down his forehead. He lashed forward with his sword and came down upon Squall's left arm.

"I know," he said fiercely, gritting his teeth and hitting Cloud against the side. He made to hit him again when a figure blotted out the little light Traverse Town received from the moon.

"What are you boys doing?" Aerith said, a worried look coming over her face. "Don't tell me you're training again. Look at you, you're covered in blood!"

Cloud dropped his sword and let it clatter on the ground. "Sorry..." he muttered.

"You better be. Now come over here and get your lunch."

Squall pushed the tip of the blade into the ground and leaned against the side of the cave, holding his bleeding arm. "Finally got a hit on me, Strife."

"What do you mean, finally, Leonheart?" Cloud said with a grin. He surprised himself with it. Since Yuffie disappeared nearly two weeks ago, no one had been smiling. Not even Aerith.

"You heard me," he said, and ripped the sleeve off of his shirt to wrap it around his arm. Loud crashes coming from Merlin's house made them all look to the elevator. There was a loud moan, some muffled words, and then another moan before all went quiet.

"What was that?" Aerith whispered from the other side of the Waterway, about to risk wetting her dress to get near Cloud.

"Well, let's find out," he replied and started to walk towards the elevator that led to the house.

"Don't. I'll go," Squall said and pulled Cloud back. He shook his head.

"No, I will."

"Stay here with Aerith."

That seemed to shut him up. He shrugged and stepped back. "Ladies' first," he said with a chuckle. He glared back at him and stepped onto the elevator.

It moved up slowly and he could no longer see the Waterway, anymore. He looked up, and the light at the end grew larger until he arrived at the top. A woman encircled in velvety darkness was hovering over the form of a young woman.

Her eyes widened when she saw him, and then relaxed. "I've been waiting for you, my darling."

"Who the hell are you?" he said in a low growl. He noticed Merlin lying across the floor, dead, and the carriage crushed.

"I am Yvonne, and this, as you already know, is Yuffie," she whispered, drawing closer to him. "Don't worry; I'm taking good care of her."

Thoughts raced through his head. So Yuffie was all right, she wasn't dead, there was still some sort of chance. "Let her go."

"Of course not! I just got her on my side. It took a lot, too. She doesn't trust the likes of you, anymore. But she doesn't know that in two days from now, I'll suck all of the energy from her, slowly but surely, and when she's drained, it will be the best sacrifice I can give to my master," she breathed.

"You're sick," he growled.

"Maybe so. Why don't you look at her while she's still alive. Oh wait, maybe I shouldn't allow you such a good thing. I think you should leave."

She outstretched her hand and before blowing a spell at him to send him down the elevator shaft, she said, "See you in two days."

==============================================================================

_Okay...so this is the finished chapter of "Terrorized." I wrote this awhile ago, actually, before "Summer Nights" was done. I was intending to write more but I thought this ending was fit, even if the chapter was only six pages long. Oh well, at least I wrote on it! I'm getting motivated again, I am! --shakes a random granny cane like an old woman trying to cross the street--_

_October_


	5. Parasite

_See, I told you I'm still writing on this fic! I didn't leave it! I was re-reading the first chapter and I'm surprised how much of a better writer I am now than a few months ago. At least...I think I am. It was terrible. And I wonder why this story has fewer reviews than my other ones! I obsess over reviews...don't mind me...XD! By the way, I'm sorry if I keep going back and forth from Squall to __Leon__...I don't pay attention when I write and I know I probably do that in all of my stories. _

==============================================================================

_Terrorized_

_Chapter Five_

==============================================================================

Leon fell down the elevator hole, landing hard on his back. Aerith screamed loudly and ran over to him, pulling Cloud by the wrist.

"What happened? L-Leon?" Aerith said in a hysterical voice, putting her hands onto his neck, checking for a pulse. She wouldn't be able to handle it if two of her friends died. She hated admitting it to herself, but all of the odds were against Yuffie.

Unable to feel a pulse, she backed away slowly, emitting a soft cry. "Cloud...i-is he..?"

Cloud stepped forward and kneeled down to take his pulse, shaking his head. "He's alive."

Aerith put a hand onto her chest and let out a deep breath, looking over Cloud's shoulder, her long auburn braid falling over her neck. "Will he be okay?"

"I think so..." Cloud said uncertainly.

Leon groaned and opened his eyes, hissing with pain as he sat up. Aerith rushed forward and looked at him closely. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." he answered, rubbing the back of his neck. "The elevator looks broken, though."

"Let me help you," Aerith said quickly, ignoring his last comment. It wasn't as important. She cast some light Cura spells on him. "Better?"

"I said I was fine." She bit her lip. "I only wanted to help."

"What the hell was up there?" Cloud quickly interjected, staring up the elevator shaft. All he could see was darkness; no light from Merlin's house shone through.

"Yuffie and...that woman," he said, standing up slowly.

"Yuffie?! Is she alive?" Aerith said anxiously, fresh tears jumping into her eyes. She clasped her hands together.

"Yeah. She didn't look too good." Squall furrowed his eyebrows together and glanced up there again.

"Oh...thank God..." Aerith said, letting out a whoosh of air. "Please let her be all right..." she said softly.

"Who was the woman?" Cloud asked, walked away from the elevator and picking up the handle of his sword.

"I don't know. She was tall, had white skin, and there was some kind of mist circling her," he said in a low voice. His face was pale, like he had seen a ghost. "She was saying she was going to make the ultimate sacrifice...I think she's going to kill her."

"Kill her? Kill Yuffie?" Aerith whispered, her hands at her mouth.

"What else would she have meant?" he answered coldly.

Cloud stepped between them. "Stop fighting. We have to be a team, now. Come on, Sora is back at the hotel. We should go tell him what happened."

They walked back to the hotel silently. No Heartless came to meet them. Most of them had already been killed earlier that day.

Aerith sighed and pushed open the door of the hotel, frowning at its state of disrepair. It looked utterly horrible. She held the door open for Leon and Cloud then closed it firmly behind them. Sora sat on a chair in the lobby, looking bored.

"There you guys are. I thought you were never coming back," he said with a cheesy grin, waving. Aerith tried to return the smile, but it just couldn't come to her lips. Sora noticed. "What happened?"

"Someone's got Yuffie in Merlin's house. Merlin is dead—" Aerith gasped at this; Leon had not told her this before. "—And the woman was saying something about the ultimate sacrifice. She's talking about Yuffie."

"Well, I'll go get her then. No way is that woman going to kill our friend!" Sora said, standing up and looking determined. Cloud pushed him down into the chair.

"No one is going anywhere. We can't even get into Third District," Cloud said and ran a hand through his hair, leaning against the wall.

"So use the elevator," Sora said stubbornly.

"It broke."

"Well what are we going to do, then? We can't just leave her there!" Aerith said quickly, rubbing her temples. "We have to break down the door to Third District."

"Are you kidding? We can't break down that door," Cloud protested.

"And why not? This is Yuffie we're talking about, a human life at stake!"

"The reason we can't is because, for one, it's protected by magical spells. Two, it's too heavy and might come smashing down on us. Three, whatever is locking it so tight is not going to budge," he said bitterly.

Aerith frowned. "Then what are we going to do?"

No one had an answer for her.

====================

Yuffie opened her eyes slowly. It was dark, and Yuffie's eyes were sleep-blurred. She stifled a yawn and swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, wobbling slightly. She stumbled across the room, about to go to the bathroom, but a hard table blocked her path. A table?

She sat back down on the bed. Of course. She wasn't even in the Green Room anymore. No wonder it was so dark out. She sighed and crossed her arms and placed them on her knees. What time was it? She couldn't have been sleeping for too long, could she?

She bit her lip and looked around warily. Yvonne could be anywhere in the room, just watching her, waiting to see what she did. For all Yuffie knew, she could see through the dark.

A slight scuffling sound echoed across the room. Her eyes widened.

"Hello...?" she whispered shakily. "Yvonne?"

The scuffling grew a little louder and two pale yellow eyes stared out at her from the black abyss. Yuffie quickly shut her mouth, cutting off her gasp and slowly inched her hand down to her belt where she kept her shurikens. Just a little bit closer...

The door to Merlin's house slammed open, letting in light and blinding Yuffie's eyes. She raised her arm over her head and squinted, trying to see who it was while alternating and groping for her weapons.

"I wouldn't try it Yuffie," came the silky voice from the door. "The Heartless was in here to guard you."

"Yvonne?" Yuffie asked a little more bravely. Her eyes had adjusted to the light and she could now see the pale, blackness covered woman stroking the Heartless's head. She whispered to it under her breath and it scattered out of the room, its heels dragging against the floor.

"Why was it trying to guard me?" Yuffie lowered her eyes, unable to bring herself to look at the woman's penetrating stare.

"Because, I thought that once you discovered I was no longer in the room you would try and escape," she said simply while settling herself down in a seat, carelessly stroking the darkness. A slow smile spread across her lips. "Only one more day..."

"Did I sleep the whole day?" Yuffie asked in surprise. "A day passed?"

"Stop asking foolish questions, you useless child," Yvonne snapped. Yuffie narrowed her eyes, and realized it was a mistake. Yvonne was close to her face, and it didn't look happy. "Do not look at me like that, do not dare. My power is great enough that I can snap my fingers and you will die a torturous death full of pain and misery."

Yuffie nodded slowly, lowering her steady glare. Maybe she made the wrong decision about coming with Yvonne. Where she had been sweet and almost caring, now she seemed cruel and ruthless. Her patience seemed to be thinning.

"Soon...soon I will have full power, full immortality," she whispered, savoring the words on her tongue. "At midnight tonight, I shall be restored to my full glory!"

Yvonne swept over to her and placed her long, white fingers under Yuffie's chin, raising it to stare at her. Her fingers touching her skin made her wince. "Look at me," she whispered.

"No..."

"I said look at me!" she hissed, and as if it had a mind of its own, Yuffie's eyes stared into Yvonne's dark ones. "There now, isn't that much better? You will be the key to all of this. Not only will you give me back my life, you will lead me to gaining revenge on that stupid, stupid fool of a boy."

"Who? Sora...?" Yuffie whispered, unable to wrench her eyes off of hers. "Are you hurting him?"

"Have I not told you before? I thought I must have. Very well. Yes, I shall kill him for what he has done to me. Then again...without him...I would not have such power, as I gained it the minute I died."

"You...can't," she protested, worry scattered across her features.

"And you, a weak little girl, is going to stop me? I'm sorry to say this—well, actually, I am not—but your friends are no longer your friends and you have already come with me. You cannot go back...your future is inevitable."

"Futures aren't inevitable."

"You dare speak back to me? Have you not seen what I have done to Merlin, despite the way his soul squirmed under my power? If only you could have felt his inner turmoil...so much fear in which I feed off...like I am doing now to your doubts."

"You're insane," Yuffie hissed.

"Perhaps...yet you know what is coming. You cringe when I touch you, because you know I can hurt you. Am I not correct? Yes, I am. It is best to kill when the prey is knowing, and not taken by surprise."

"What the hell do you mean?" Yuffie whispered fearfully, trying to back into the wall. She dug her fingers into the hard cot and felt her muscles tensing up.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she said with a laugh.

Yuffie failed to answer. She reached for her shuriken stars once again, and successfully felt the cool, comforting metal touch her fingers, slick and sharp. Before she could change her mind she whipped it at Yvonne, aiming at the uncovered flesh of her face. The mist instinctively curled up to her face to block the hit, but it was unneeded. Yvonne caught the star with two fingers and merely laughed.

"Pathetic. This? This is a little star. This can't hurt me," she said with an almost child like giggle. Yuffie, determined to catch her off guard, grabbed another star and whipped it at her face before the mist could block while Yvonne was still studying the star.

This time, her hit was perfect. It buried itself deep into her pale, white cheek. An inhuman scream of surprise, much like that of the Heartless, screeched out of her mouth. Yuffie felt a burning sensation in the identical cheek she had hit the woman and put a hand to it, stumbling backwards on the bed.

"It hurts, doesn't it? If I could, I would hurt you, torture you, but as you can see, when one gets hurt, it is like a mirror reflection. So does the other. That makes killing you so much more complicated."

"W-what? Kill me? Why?"

"My sacrifice, you idiot. What else? I must sacrifice you to save myself from living off of you forever until you get so old I must find another host. And it is hard to catch human hosts off guard, especially when they must have dark thoughts in mind...ah yes."

Yuffie's eyes widened in realization. This was why Yvonne wanted her. Not because she wanted to help her, but because she wanted to kill her, and all of her friends.

Startling her, Yvonne took in a deep, shuddering breath and Yuffie gasped and felt a hollow pit in her chest, and the desirable urge to lay down and sleep for a long, long time. Yvonne took in two more breaths and her nostrils flared as she glanced down at Yuffie.

"Do you feel that? It feels so wonderful. Not for you, of course," she said with a laugh, her eyes closed and her face raised to the ceiling as if feeling the sun on a warm day. "I sucked out some of your soul, your energy. Making me stronger...and you...weaker."

Yuffie didn't have the strength to kick her. A wave of dizziness passed over her, then a more powerful wave. "Burn in—" before she could finish her sentence she collapsed on the bed.

==============================================================================

_Blech__, I hate this! And I have writer's block which is why this is so short. Anyways, review pleaaaaaaaase!! I meant to say something else but I totally forgot. It's the result of staying up until 4:30 AM like now...and sleeping during the day. I'm a vampire! WHEE! ::batman theme song:: Oh wait...well vampires can be bats right? o.o;;_


	6. Showdown

_Okay, I finally pulled myself to do this. I have way too many ideas in my head and the faster I can complete this the faster I can get them off my head! I haven't been doing much writing, lately...I'm really sorry, too. I was busy making icons (new thing I found out how to do) and I was trying to draw. By the way...please go to PingPong867's LiveJournal community, called SquffieLove! There are some cool icons there, story contests, and normal chat between Squffie lovers. It's fun!_

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_Terrorized_

_Chapter 6_

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Leon grimly polished his Gunblade, sweat beads running down the side of his face. He had no clue what he was dealing with, no clue at all. The woman wasn't a normal woman, she didn't look anything like a human.

"Pass the grease," Cloud muttered and propped his sword against the table in the Green Room. Leon slid it over to him. "Thanks."

Sora sighed audibly from the corner of the room, playing with his Keyblade. He sat on the bed and flicked the chain around. "Why do you need to grease your weapons?"

"Because it makes them look shiny," Leon said sarcastically. He didn't have time to talk to Sora, or anyone else. He wanted complete silence so he could concentrate on preparing himself for tonight.

There was a soft knock on the door. Aerith opened it, carrying three sodas. "Would you boys like something to drink?" she asked softly, her eyes anxious and cast downwards.

"Thanks, Aerith," Cloud said, knowing that Leon would be angry for more interruption and decided to show Aerith he had appreciation for her thoughtfulness. He took the drink and kissed her on the cheek. She smiled and put a hand on Cloud's elbow.

"Sure, throw one over here!" Sora said, trying to be cheerful and fill the silence. Aerith tossed it over but her throw was a little short. It fell and rolled on the ground, hitting Sora's foot. He shrugged and picked it up, tapping on the lid.

"I wouldn't open that if I were—" Cloud said, but Sora had already popped the lid and brown fizzy liquid was spraying all over him. The way he wasn't trying to stop it made Cloud think he was trying to be funny for all their sakes. It was sad.

Aerith grabbed the pop out of Sora's hand and pulled it away. Sora grinned and wiped his face off with his hand. "Oh man, look what happened..."

Leon shook his head and continued to clean off the weapon.

_The people I associate myself with, _he thought.

====================

Yuffie opened her eyes and looked around. There was a small light on, just barely lighting up the room. It was empty again. And an ugly Heartless was pacing around the room, restless, and barely able to look at one thing for more than two seconds.

It noticed she had woken up. It bounced over to her and stared at her. She cringed. "Go away!" she whispered. It quivered like it was trying to resist the urge to attack her. She grabbed her pouch of shurikens but found it was empty. Yvonne probably took them. "Damn."

She pushed herself back up against the wall slowly. She still felt weak and her elbows were shaking with effort to move herself.

The Heartless finally left her bedside and continued pacing around the room faster than before. Yuffie sighed in relief and let her muscles relax. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She had never thought about it before...she was going to die tonight...only it was worse than when she had been dangling over the cliff. She hadn't had to wait for the time to hit midnight for her to die. She knew exactly when she was going to. It wasn't the same as knowing you'll die when you're old.

She didn't want to die before she got to say goodbye to her friends. Even if she wasn't important to them. They were the only people she had.

"That is pathetic," said a whispered voice right next to her ear, surprising her with the cold that brushed against her hair. Breath was supposed to be warm.

Yuffie turned to Yvonne, who was standing next to her bedside. "When did you get here?"

"It's a pity knowing what you're thinking," she continued on while ignoring Yuffie's question.

"Whatever..." she said coolly.

"You must come with me..." Yvonne said. "It's time."

"No!"

"Yes, come."

"I don't want to die!" she yelled at her with tears in her eyes. Yvonne sneered and started walking towards the door, and Yuffie automatically followed.

"Stop! I don't want to go!" Yuffie shouted. Her legs carried her at Yvonne's heels. Her mind control was too strong for her to resist. "Stop..." she said weakly.

"Your friends should be here in an hour," Yvonne said with a cruel laugh while bringing Yuffie across the stone islands in the water. "Maybe less."

Yuffie chose not to say anything. Tears streamed down her cheeks, making her eyes red and puffy.

Yvonne brought her to the middle of Third District and stopped in the middle. She turned around and gave her a penetrating stare. "You are to wait here."

Yuffie nodded. She could agree now, but as soon as she left she would bolt.

"Of course...there are some advantages of reading your mind," Yvonne said with a smirk and snapped her fingers. The mist left Yvonne and encircled Yuffie instead, filling her with coldness. She struggled to move but the mist held her still.

"See you," she said with another laugh before disappearing.

====================

Leon paced around the room, bumping into a table leg and spilling the half empty soda cans onto the ground. Aerith fumbled with a rag to clean it up, her hands shaking. It was almost time to go and get Yuffie back.

"Aerith, just leave it," Cloud said quickly.

"No...I'll clean it up," she said and wiped at the stained carpet. She pulled back up when she had gotten out the most of it and sat on the bed, clasping her hands in her lap and pulling her elbows in to hide the evidence of her shivering.

Cloud sighed. "Ready, Leonheart?"

Leon's grasp on the handle of his weapon tightened. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Sora?"

"Yeah! Let's take that thing head on and show her what we're made of!" Sora said enthusiastically.

"Then let's go."

They walked towards the door, Aerith at their heels. Once they got outside the hotel, Aerith continued to follow them. Cloud turned around and gently held her back.

"Aerith, stay here. We'll be back soon."

_Hopefully..._Leon thought.

"No, I want to go, too! I have to see Yuffie."

"You're not going. You have to stay here where it's safe."

"No! I can't take it. What if you die, Cloud? I want to be there to hold your hand! What if Yuffie dies? I want to say something to her; I want to be there to tell her it's all right!" she shouted, tears clouding her vision.

"Come on, then," Leon said crossly. Aerith's eyes widened.

"Really?" she said incredulously.

"If you're going, then move."

"Leon, I don't think—" Cloud started.

"Come on, Strife." Leon walked a few strides ahead of them, looking tense. He stopped in front of the doorway to Third District.

"How will we get in?" Aerith asked timidly.

"I don't know," Cloud said honestly, placing a hand on the door and knocking on it. He continued knocking along the door until the sound that came back sounded different. "This is hollower than the other parts of the door. Maybe we can cut it open."

"It won't work. The door is too thick even if hollow," Leon said grimly.

"Well we have to try something," Aerith said with a sigh. She went up to the doorknob and turned it. The door swung open. She took a step back, her mouth gaping open. "How...?"

"I thought it was locked!" Sora said in surprise.

"Who the hell cares? Let's just get Yuffie and get out of here," Leon said with a scowl and stepped forward into the district.

====================

Yuffie moaned and opened her eyes. She could hardly stand, and the mist was all that was holding her up. She just wanted to die, maybe make it easier on everybody. It would be so much easier than having to stand here, and to go through all of this. It just wasn't fair.

_Who said life was fair? _echoed a voice in her head. Squall's voice.

"Squall..." she whispered. A movement out of the corner of her eye broke her out of her reverie. It looked like...

"Squall?" she whispered, shaking her head. And Sora, Cloud, and...Aerith? "What?"

Yuffie stared at Leon and their eyes connected. She broke into a sob and wished the mist would let her go, just let her run to them. She struggled to move in vain.

"Yuffie!" Aerith cried and ran towards her. Before she got close to her, a swooping figure snatched Aerith around the waist and flew her over back to the little group, screaming the whole way. She dropped her on the ground and fell with a _thud _and a sickening _crack. _

Cloud bent over her, anger and worry in his eyes. He checked her pulse and looked into the sky, searching for the figure. "What the hell was that?"

Sora jumped forward, holding his Keyblade in front of him. "I'm going to get Yuffie, then we can get out of here!"

He darted forward, keeping his eyes set and determined on Yuffie. She shook her head frantically and tried to yell for him to stop but the mist stopped her.

Yvonne reappeared in front of Sora, blocking him and making him run into her and fall back on the ground. "Maleficent," he hissed.

"You. _You._The boy I've wanted to see all along," she said gleefully, snapping her fingers. The mist left Yuffie and covered Yvonne's. Yuffie stumbled, trying to balance, but her legs weren't strong enough, and she collapsed.

====================

Leon watched Yuffie collapse in a heap on the floor when the mist released her. He furrowed his eyebrows and edged towards a building, watching the woman and Sora exchange words. He tried to keep out of sight as he got near to her. He knelt down.

"Yuffie...can you walk?" he asked softly when he realized she wasn't knocked out, but struggling to get up. She shook her head. He put a hand under her chin and lifted her head. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"I messed up..." she whispered. He didn't understand what she meant, but there was no time for him to ask. He put an arm under her knees and around her waist and lifted her slowly.

"Going somewhere?" whispered a cool woman's voice. She seemed to appear out of thin air in front of Leon and Yuffie, who whimpered when she saw her. "I will need her for my sacrifice to the darkness."

Yvonne reached out to grab Yuffie. Leon pulled her away. "Go back to the hole where you came from," he growled.

"Oh, I will, quite soon," she said smoothly, taking hold of Yuffie and successfully pulling her away. The mist brushed around his skin and he immediately felt a cold, yet burning sensation on his skin. He stumbled back and looked at Yvonne in surprise, who was carelessly dropping Yuffie onto the ground. She moved aside and he could see Sora sprawled on the ground, unconscious or dead, his Keyblade still in hand.

"I don't need to kill you unless you make things difficult for me," she hissed, and approached him, touching his temple with a long, white finger.

He reached for his Gunblade and swung it back, and before she could react, her arm was severed and hanging on the ground, her stump of an arm spilling Heartless blood. She screamed inhumanly and jumped onto him, her one hand wrapping over his neck. He was pushed backwards into the wall while she squeezed the air out of him.

"Squall!" Yuffie screeched. She was sitting up and staring at him with shiny, tearful eyes. She started dragging herself over to him. He tried to shake his head, his eyes watering. Yvonne grinned and tightened her grip.

Yuffie grabbed Yvonne's ankle and buried her nails and teeth into her calf, another scream coming from the pale woman. She loosened her grip and Leon fell onto the ground, gripping his neck.

====================

"Get off me, you retched—evil—!" Yvonne shrieked, but refrained from hitting Yuffie.

"How dare you hurt my friends!" she screamed at her.

"Move out of the way, Yuffie!" Cloud yelled, bringing himself away from Aerith and holding his sword up. Yvonne laughed and held her hand up, releasing a ball of dark matter that hit Cloud in the stomach, pushing him backwards and toppling on top of Aerith.

She turned back to Leon who had started to stand up, pale in the face. "Time to die."

Yuffie's eyes widened. If he died, it would be all her fault. Her eyes darted wildly around, looking for something, anything, to help her. Her heart beat hard in her chest. Then she saw it.

She reached out to grab Leon's Gunblade, and held it up. "If you touch him, Yvonne, I'll kill myself with this Gunblade!" she shouted. Yvonne turned around from Leon, her face distorted with rage, then she laughed.

"I highly doubt you will end up killing your own, precious self," Yvonne said coldly, but she looked uncertain.

"Oh—" Yuffie choked on her words but continued. "Oh yes I will!"

Leon shook his head, looking at Yuffie like she was crazy. Strong hands encircled her waist and pulled her back.

"Cloud let me go!" she screeched. Once Yvonne realized Cloud wouldn't let Yuffie kill herself she turned back to finish Leon off.

"No!" she screamed and plunged the Gunblade into her stomach. Yvonne dropped Leon and screamed. The mist shattered and Yvonne collapsed onto the ground, still screaming. Yuffie giggled weakly. Cloud gripped her harder.

"Yuffie!" Leon and Cloud yelled at the same time.

Yvonne floated off the spot on the ground and a small orb rose out of her chest, pulsating. Yuffie watched wearily, and felt herself slipping.

White wisps of smoke escaped orb. "The hearts she stole..." Yuffie whispered before everything grew black around the edges. She vaguely saw a wolf-like wisp floating above her. __

_Live..._

_Arcanine?_

"Yuffie...Yuffie..." Leon said, shaking her shoulder. Yuffie opened her eyes. She was dead...dead...

"What...?" she whispered, looking around. Sora, Cloud, Aerith, and Leon were leaning over her, looking concerned. "What?" she repeated before flinging her arms around Leon's neck, sobbing into his shoulder.

She let him go and looked down at her stomach. Her clothes were bloodied and ripped. "Why aren't I dead?"

Aerith started to cry, then shook her head. "A dog..."

"A dog...?"

"A dog saved you...you were dying—bleeding—and it kind of...made it stop," she said like she couldn't believe it.

"Arcanine..."

"What?"

"Nothing. You guys...I'm sorry. I didn't believe you loved me; I thought you hated me," Yuffie said sheepishly. "So I went with Yvonne but everything went all wrong. I'm sorry."

"Oh Yuffie," Aerith whispered and hugged Yuffie. "We just wanted to protect you."

"I know..."

"Let's go home."

====================

Aerith and Cloud entered the hotel, looking exhausted. Yuffie paused and grabbed Leon's wrist, who had been silent the rest of the way home.

"I'm sorry," Yuffie said quickly.

"For what?"

"Being stupid."

"Everyone acts stupid."

"Even you?"

"Yeah..."

Yuffie smiled and grabbed Leon's neck and kissed him hard on the lips, blushing but not stopping.

He put a hand on her waist and another on her arm and kissed her back, then pulled away. "What was that for?"

"Just because."

====================

_The end! I was so anxious to get this dang story done...I am so relieved its over! I hated it! Ugh! I wrote it terrible, too...probably because I didn't like it. Ahh well... review please and look out for my next stories. _


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